MONROE, La. -- ULM will open Sun Belt Conference play Thursday night when it welcomes WKU to Malone Stadium for a nationally-televised contest. The ninth all-time meeting between the two programs will air on ESPNU and is scheduled to kickoff at 6:32 p.m. (CT).

First and Ten...• ULM will open conference play Thursday night when it welcomes WKU to Malone Stadium for the final Sun Belt Conference meeting between the two programs... The Warhawks and Hilltoppers have met eight times on the gridiron and the series is tied at 4-4... The last four games between the two teams have been decided by a combined 12 points and the last two meetings have gone into overtime.• Last season, WKU jumped out to a 28-7 lead in the 2nd quarter, but ULM battled back and forced overtime... In the extra session, WKU scored first to move ahead 42-35... After a Kolton Browning touchdown run, he found Rashon Ceaser for the game-winning two-point conversion in the 43-42 win in Bowling Green, Ky.• The Thursday night contest is the first of two mid-week games for the squad this season... ULM will battle Troy on Halloween in a Thursday night showdown on ESPNU.• During the 2012 season, the Warhawks posted a 4-0 record in the month of October... ULM earned road wins at Middle Tennessee (W, 31-17, Oct. 6) and at WKU (W, 43-42, OT, Oct. 20)... The club earned home wins over Florida Atlantic (W, 35-14, Oct. 13) and South Alabama (W, 38-24).• ULM closed out its 2013 non-conference slate with a 31-14 setback to Tulane at Malone Stadium... The Warhawks finished the non-conference season with a 2-3 record... ULM earned wins over Grambling State and Wake Forest, while dropping games to No. 16 Oklahoma, No. 19 Baylor and Tulane.• In the second quarter against Tulane, Kolton Browning connected with Cortney Davis on a 44-yard pass play to become ULM’s all-time leader for career passing yards... Browning passed Steven Jyles who had 8,987 yards from 2002-05... Browning finished the game with 134 passing yards, giving him 9,051 for his career.• Brayle Brown recorded his first career touchdown pass as he found Ajalen Holley with 7:45 to play in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s game against Tulane... Brown finished with career-highs in passing yards (133), attempts (18) and completions (10).• Ajalen Holley, who recorded his first career touchdown against Tulane, finished with a career-high 53 receiving yards on a career-best two catches.• Rashon Ceaser recorded his first career punt return for a touchdown with a career-long 88 yard return in the third quarter of Saturday’s contest... His 88-yard punt return is the fifth-longest punt return in conference history... Prior to Ceaser finding the endzone on the punt return, the last ULM punt return for a touchdown was a 53-yard punt return for a touchdown by Mikkal Henry vs. Troy on Nov. 10, 2001.• Rashon Ceaser finished the night with three punt returns for 97 yards... His 97 return yards are the most in the league this season and he is one of three players in the SBC to return a punt for a touchdown this season... Ceaser is leading the conference and ranks ninth nationally in punt return yardage at 17.3 yards per return.• The ULM defense limited Tulane’s Nick Montana to just 65 passing yards... It was the first time since Dec. 3, 2011 (at Florida Atlantic) that the Warhawks held an opponent to fewer than 100 passing yards.• Cameron Blakes led the Warhawk defense against Tulane as the senior finished with 12 total tackles (four solo and six asst).• Lenzy Pipkins recorded a career-high eight tackles (two solo, six asst) against the Green Wave.• Hunter Kissinger matched his career-high with two tackles for loss against Tulane... Kissinger also recorded two tackles for loss against Tulane last season in New Orleans.• For the second consecutive week, Cody Robinson set a new career-high in tackles... The sophomore registered six total tackles (one solo, five asst) in the final non-conference game of the season for ULM.• Isaiah Newsome recorded his second interception of the season (and ninth of his career) in the first quarter of Saturday’s game... Newsome intercepted Nick Montana with 2:42 to play in the first quarter.

#ULMvsWKUSeriesULM and WKU will meet for the final time as Sun Belt Conference foes Thursday night as the Hilltoppers will move to C-USA next season... The two clubs have met on the gridiron eight times and the series is tied at 4-4... WKU won the first three meetings in the series (1952, 1953, 1954), before ULM earned its first win in 1955... Since the two teams began competing against each other as SBC foes, ULM owns a 3-1 mark... The last four games between the Warhawks and the Hilltoppers have been decided by a combined 12 points and the last two have gone into overtime.

#ScoutingTheHilltoppersWKU makes its way to Monroe with a 3-2 record overall and a 0-1 mark in league play... The Hilltoppers opened the season with a 35-26 win over Kentucky in Nashville, Tenn. and attempted to make it 2-0 vs. the SEC but turnovers doomed WKU in a 52-20 loss at Tennessee a week later... In the conference opener for both teams, WKU fell to South Alabama, 31-24, in Mobile, Ala... Since the loss to the Jaguars, WKU has won two-straight (W, 58-17 vs. Morgan State; W, 19-7 vs. Navy).

Antonio Andrews was named the SBC Offensive Player of the Week after totaling 182 rushing yards on 32 carries in the club’s win over Navy... He also caught five passes for 35 yards... In all, he amassed 252 all-purpose yards against the Midshipmen (33 kick return yards, two punt return yards)... WKU has used four different quarterbacks this season with Brandon Doughty getting the majority of snaps under center... Doughty is 103-of-159 for 1,028 yards with five touchdowns and nine interceptions... Nicholas Norris leads the Hilltoppers in touchdown receptions with three.

Xavius Boyd was named the league’s defensive player of the week after recording eight solo tackles, including a sack for a safety in the win over Navy... Boyd is the nation’s leader in sacks (6.5) and sits second in tackles for loss (11.5)... He is also the conference leader in total tackles with 10.6 per game (11th nationally).

Following the Thursday night tilt in Monroe, WKU will get a 12-day break before hosting UL-Lafayette on Oct. 15.